Stackpool to launch adviser accreditation mark

A new financial adviser certification mark which disallows receiving any "financial benefit" from product providers will be launched by industry consultant Jim Stackpool.

The new accreditation – to be known as the 'Certainty Adviser' – which is in the process of gaining a certification mark from the ACCC is aimed at helping move the industry towards a new "generation" of advice providers.

Advisers who join must meet three key criteria, including serving the "public good". They can also be aligned or non-aligned.

In addition, they must not receive any revenue, or accept any financial benefit, from a product or service provider, and they must adopt the fee and disclosure guidelines set out in the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board's originally proposed APES 230 standard.

The launch of the accreditation comes as Mr Stackpool moves to rebrand his business, Strategic Consulting and Training (SCAT), to Certainty Advice Group.

Mr Stackpool said the new name and designation reflect the group's "sharper focus" on partnering with advisers who specialise in the removal of financial uncertainty and its expanded mission to make advice "irresistible".

"We are continuing SCAT's work of helping advisers build productive, scalable and profitable practices only we have much bolder and ambitious goals," he said.

"We want to reinvent advice and educate consumers about what advice should look like and ultimately deliver. In most cases, it will bear little resemblance to what they're likely to experience today.

"So far, we are happy with the consumer reaction. Since the launch of my financial advice book for consumers last year, we're now getting 2,000 hits per month on the book site. We introduce relevant enquiries to our certified advisers as part of our approach," Mr Stackpool said.